That would be Jose as in Jose Calderon, Bayless’ competition for the starting point guard job in Raptors camp.

And yet Bayless was publicly wishing Calderon got the starting job over him.

Now from head coach Dwane Casey to Bayless and certainly Calderon who has been down this road before, no one wants another point guard controversy. That has been made clear by all involved, but Bayless took it to another level on Thursday.

So much so that somewhere down in Dallas T.J. Ford’s head just swivelled off his neck.

Standing less than 20 steps away when Bayless uttered those jaw-dropping words, a member of Casey’s staff didn’t hear Bayless’ actual comment but he will not be at all surprised to hear it was said.

Raptors assistant coach and four-time NBA head coach Johnny Davis has been spending a lot of time with Bayless, much the same way he spent a lot of time with O.J. Mayo in Memphis last year the same way then Dallas assistant Casey spent a lot of time with Jason Terry.

What all three players have in common is they have accepted the fact that they could be just as valuable to their team coming off the bench as starting.

Jamal Crawford bought in down in Atlanta too as did Lamar Odom in Los Angeles. It’s not out of the question that by season’s end we’ll be talking about Jerryd Bayless when the conversation turns to Sixth Man of the Year honours, something Terry, Crawford and Odom have all experienced.

Davis says it’s not so much buying in as it is being open to the suggestion that starting isn’t the be all and end all.

“Sometimes you have to open a young player’s mind to it so he can truly see it beyond his own perspective,” Davis said. “Once you explain it to him, once they see it and they understand why, then they accept it I think. I think it’s when you don’t explain it to them, they don’t know what’s happening then they feel like ‘Well, why? I’m good enough. Why are they doing this? The coach doesn’t like me.’ You get into those kinds of things, but with coach Casey, the door is always open and he always explains the roles for the players clearly and he also tells them why so they understand exactly what the vision is and that makes it an easier sell for the player who is being asked to sacrifice, not just Jerryd but other players as well.”

WORKING TOGETHER

That’s the way it is with Casey and Davis. They throw the credit back at each other.

No one has said publicly that Calderon is the starter and Bayless will come off the bench but that will be the way it starts, as much for what Bayless can do for that second unit as for what Calderon brings as a starter.

“The key thing to remember is it’s truly a collective effort with a team,” Davis said. “Some guys fit better with a starting unit and some guys fit better with the second unit depending on what you need. Certainly Jerryd is good enough to be a starter in this league. There is no question about that, but he’s also a guy who can impact a game on that second unit and give your team a good jolt of positive energy when he comes in.

“It’s truly about the team with him which is very exciting,” Davis said. “He is not a guy who is pouting and moping and saying he should be starting. I think he knows he’s capable of being a starter, we know he’s capable, and I think the league knows that. But for our team we need him to come off the bench and he’s accepted that and embraced it and certainly I think that will only enhance his value.”

Bayless clearly gets the bulk of the credit for embracing the move, but Davis deserves his due as well. In a league where the perception of being a starter often times trumps where a player can be most effective, Davis has a way of making the point so that the players convinces himself it’s for the best.

Davis is the type of man you implicitly trust even on first meeting and that speaks more to the man he is than the coach he has become.

“He’s just like an old rock. He’s solid, a good man,” Casey said. “He has played the point guard position, he has won an NBA championship and he was big in the development of that young Memphis team. That’s where we are. We are a young team. He’s just a good basketball man.”

The Grizzlies wanted Davis back in Memphis this year but the combination of a chance to work alongside his old friend like the two did in Minnesota years ago combined with the challenge the wet-behind-the-ears Raptors present made the move intriguing for Davis.

“I enjoyed my time in Memphis and certainly enjoyed working with Lionel Hollins who is also a good friend of mine,” Davis said. “It was a tough decision but all that and the fact I wanted to experience the city of Toronto were factors.”

And just as Mayo made that second unit in Memphis such a big part of its success, Davis see Bayless doing the same thing for the Raptors.